and whether the land they live in is good or bad, and whether the cities they inhabit are like camps or fortified cities,

Be very careful, ¹  then, because you saw no form at the time the Lord spoke to you at Horeb from the middle of the fire.

Be on guard so that you do not forget the covenant of the Lord your God that he has made with you, and that you do not make an image of any kind, just as he ¹  has forbidden ²  you.

He said, “Here are the policies of the king who will rule over you: He will conscript your sons and put them in his chariot forces and in his cavalry; they will run in front of his chariot.

But David said, “No! You shouldn’t do this, my brothers. Look at what the Lord has given us! ¹  He has protected us and has delivered into our hands the raiding party that came against us.

“The time will come when the land suffers from a famine, a plague, blight and disease, or a locust ¹  invasion, or when their enemy lays siege to the cities of the land, ²  or when some other type of plague or epidemic occurs.

From the other side of the Jordan, from Reuben, Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh, there were 120,000 men armed with all kinds of weapons.

They divided them by lots, for there were officials of the holy place and officials designated by God among the descendants of both Eleazar and Ithamar. ¹ 

for gold and silver items, and for all the work of the craftsmen. Who else wants to contribute to the Lord today?”

“But who am I and who are my people, that we should be in a position to contribute this much? ¹  Indeed, everything comes from you, and we have simply given back to you what is yours. ² 

“The time will come when the land suffers from a famine, a plague, blight, and disease, or a locust ¹  invasion, or when their enemy lays siege to the cities of the land, ²  or when some other type of plague or epidemic occurs.

supervised the laborers and all the foremen on their various jobs. ¹  Some of the Levites were scribes, officials, and guards.

Isn’t this the way your ancestors ¹  acted, causing our God to bring on them and on this city all this misfortune? And now you are causing even more wrath on Israel, profaning the Sabbath like this!”

As I watched, I noticed ¹  a form that appeared to be a man. ²  From his waist downward was something like fire, ³  and from his waist upward something like a brightness, ⁴  like an amber glow. ⁵ 

“Son of man, the house of Israel has become slag to me. All of them are like bronze, tin, iron, and lead in the furnace; ¹  they are the worthless slag of silver.

Fishermen will stand beside it; from Engedi to En-eglaim they will spread nets. They will catch many kinds of fish, like the fish of the Great Sea. ¹ 

They sacrifice on the mountaintops, and burn offerings on the hills; they sacrifice ¹  under oak, poplar, and terebinth, because their shade is so pleasant. As a result, your daughters have become cult prostitutes, and your daughters-in-law commit adultery!

Burn a thank offering of bread made with yeast! ¹  Make a public display of your voluntary offerings! ²  For you love to do this, you Israelites.” The sovereign Lord is speaking!

If a lying windbag should come and say, ¹  ‘I’ll promise you blessings of wine and beer,’ ²  he would be just the right preacher for these people! ³ 

Then Jesus went throughout all the towns ¹  and villages, teaching in their synagogues, ²  preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and sickness. ³